Level Up
by Paladin One
Summary: Being trapped in your favorite video game should be a dream come true.
1. Chapter 1

When it started, no one was prepared. Not Square Enix, and certainly not the players. The first recorded mention of the incident was January 1, 2016 in a chat conversation. The player's in-game name was Markus Millennial, who at the time was running through the Void Ark raid as a Dark Knight. Because it was the first event, isolated to a single person at the time, Square Enix only saved the chat conversation from that time along with some other useless data.

The conversation was translated from it's original language.

[20:20] [FC] Markus M. Gonna have to drop this VA run .  
[20:20] (Lilala Lam) щ(ºДºщ)  
[20:20] (( **α** L.B.)) Waiting on healer  
[20:21] (Markus Millennial) Guys I can't log off.  
[20:21] (Markus Millennial) mt  
[20:21] (Lilala Lam) Just stay for the run. We're almost clear.  
[20:21] [FC] Markus M. Guys I can't log off.  
[20:22] (Markus Millennial) I've gotta go. Too many wipes.  
[20:22] (Chicken Little) Just stay.  
[20:22] [FC] Reenee A. What do you mean?  
[20:22] [FC] Lilala L. ?  
[20:23] (( **γ** C.L.)) lol brd pull

Chicken Little has marked Yunii Strife as Do Not Attack.

[20:23] [FC] Markus M. I mean I can't log off.  
[20:23] [FC] Markus M. Guys I can't move  
[20:23] [FC] Markus M. Okay, freaking out now.  
[20:23] [FC] Hola H. o.o!  
[20:23] [FC] Markus M. tyihbnoiheg8aoaerfahgeuvriahha  
[20:24] [FC] Markus M. i can't talk either  
[20:24] [FC] Markus M. the hells going on  
[20:24] [FC] Markus M. help

Another event like the one experienced by Markus Millennial's player wasn't experienced again until two months later. By then, however, it was not an isolated event but something that could be likened to a endemic.

One by one, people across the various data centers discovered they couldn't log out of Final Fantasy XIV. A few sent reports to Square Enix using the report function within the game, while others who were unsure what was happening panicked, and started using the shout chat function in the game.

This endemic was not taken seriously by the majority of the player base, unfortunately, as those not affected by the strange occurrence denounced these players. For their cries of help they were labelled pranksters, trolls, or the like.

Markus Millennial was last reported to have logged in January 2, 2016. The player likely distanced himself from the game after the incident.

Try as Square Enix might, the company attempted to establish a cause to these unusually happenings, but between the dates of March 3, 2016 and July 18, 2016 the company maintained that they had no evidence of players being unable to logout of Final Fantasy XIV. Any players reporting such incidents were abusing the report function to propagate a hoax.

The game lead for FFXIV went so far as to address the player base and assure them that the issue was being looked into. Some fans, however, were doubtful any action was being taken.

It wasn't until August 30, 2016 that the first reported kill was logged, amidst the week long celebration of the games re-launch from August 27, 2013.

[08:01] [6] O'Wizroo L. damn  
[08:02] [6] Norman R. What's up Wiz?

You wave to O'Wizroo Lhrisk

[08:02] [6] O'Wizroo L. Hey Rock

Loomy Oswald has logged in.

[08:02] [6] O'Wizroo L. You gunna be on for llong?  
[08:02] [6] O'Wizroo L. nee some help  
[08:02] [2] Nyrltep N. se.1 Hunt Found! se.4 se.8 Eastern La Noscea (29.6 , 20.7) KILL IT WITH FIER!  
[08:02] [FC] L.O. hey  
[08:03] [6] Norman R. Depends. Not on for long. What ddo you need help with?  
[08:03] [6] Slick W. Probably needs help trolling /b/  
[08:03] [6] O'Wizroo L. nah but like I can't log out  
[08:04] [6] Slick W. haha trolololing us?  
[08:04] [2] Kirito B. Nyr 1 sound plz  
[08:02] [FC] M.A. Heyo Loomy  
[08:04] [6] Norman R. … Wiz  
[08:04] [6] Norman R. Go do that with noobs.

Herp Derp slaps Lunana Nananana.

[08:04] [2] Nyrltep N. Sorry ^^;  
[08:04] [6] O'Wizroo L. its tru  
[08:04] [6] Norman R. Not us.

You look disgusted with O'Wizroo Lhrisk.

[08:05] [6] Norman R. :/ you were just slamming people for this joke man. It's not funny.  
[08:05] [6] O'Wizroo L. i'm not joking. Like seriously. I need help.  
[08:05] [6] Norman R. How am I supposed to help?  
[08:05] [6] O'Wizroo L. I cant get to my phone  
[08:06] [6] O'Wizroo L. its next to my bed  
[08:06] [6] O'Wizroo L. and I live alone  
[08:06] [6] Norman R. If this ends with a punchline of me calling you a hooker I'm done.

You shrug at O'Wizroo Lhrisk.

[08:07] [6] O'Wizroo L. no. I need you to call my fam.  
[08:07] [6] O'Wizroo L. i think I'm dying…  
[08:07] [6] T'yrial L. Dramatic much?

O'Wizroo Lhrisk falls over dead.

The cause of death was left unexplained, and no further examinations were made. The player base at large found this story unsettling, but dedicated to the game. Many shared their sympathies, but made excuses for the death being unrelated to FFXIV.

Three weeks later, and three more people died across the game. Two weeks after that, there were five more deaths, and no clear explanation. Plenty of forums and message boards speculated, or posited theories as to the cause, but ultimately there was no basis.

People were dying.

People playing Final Fantasy XIV were dying.

At least, for that time. After the first nine reported cases, no other mysterious deaths occurred. And for a time things looked like they were returning to normal.

However, on January 17, 2017 another incident registered. Square Enix had, since the nine deaths, mobilized a series of computer codes that would automatically begin recording any events which met certain criteria.

In the recording, half a dozen player characters are seen interacting with one another and communicating. Their interactions were not a part of the original coding of the game, and they enacted gestures which other players could not normally re-create. Their dialogue is also missing, as no chat record exists anywhere in the game.

The players were monitored for a period of one week. During which they did not log out, but were instead seen throughout various areas of the game's world. They avoided joining any of the game's dungeons, raids, or additional content that was combat oriented. Their activities were instead confined to activities where combat was either missing completely, or minimal in presence.

After the one week observation period, Square Enix sought to ban the characters on suspicion of hacking.

The ban failed.

The characters remained online, and active for another week. Upon further investigation they displayed habits typical of any other human being. They slept at the in-game inns, ate food regularly, and continued to interact with one another beyond the normal parameters of the game code.

The major difference between this incident, and all previous ones, was that this happened to a group of people at the same time, and on multiple servers.

Square Enix has only one recording where audio was detected.

Language: English  
Role: Tank  
Class/Job: Paladin  
Level 60  
iLevel 260

Instance Type: Raids (Heavensward)  
Instance Name: Alexander - The Heart of the Creator (Savage)

Character List:  
Bard Tanne (Paladin) - Midlander  
Jolly Glass (Warrior) - Seawolf  
Mewster Purrfect (Ninja) - Sunseeker  
Chun Chunmaru (Dragoon) - Dunesfolk  
Ino Uchiha (Black Mage) - Raen  
Tutei Urumet (Bard) - Xaela  
Misty Foxx (Scholar) - Sunseeker  
Kokoko Kokoko (White Mage) - Dunesfolk

* * *

I'm trying a thing. Let me know what you think. More chapters to come :)


	2. Chapter 2

The players didn't hit the ground with their characteristic, and physic-defying, landing like they'd normally do. Instead, the players were launched off the mechanical ramp, down onto the circular arena, and every single one of them fell to the ground in a tumble. Soft groans of pain and confusion are clear, but not the same sounds that are coded into Final Fantasy XIV. The ones spoofed through emotes.

No, these are real voices. Their muttering is clearly not programmed as they rise to their feet. Though the camera is setup to show the whole arena, including the boss, the audio recorded sounds as if you were standing right next to the players.

"What the..?" One of them says. It's a woman, by her voice, though later it was revealed that the player was a man by the name of Michael Johns. They were the player of the character Tutei Urumet, a xaela au'ra with black skin and violet hair. She was the first to be on her feet. "...is this? The game?"

The other players in the party got to their feet not long after, each one taking the time to inspect their bodies. They were in shock. How could they, players from the real world, be stuck in the video game?

"Oh this is so cool!" The voice was accompanied by a whooping cheer. At least for one of the players, things didn't seem so horrible. Chun Chunmaru, a dragoon player playing a dunesfolk lalafell, quickly ran and stumbled over to the tall, muscular, roegadyn. "Jolly! Look! It's like my anime!"

"Tony…." The roegadyn, Jolly Glass, a warrior, kneeled down. Concern was plain in their voice because they understood the situation. Or, at least, they thought they did. Either way, their voice picked up a little cheer. Chun Chunmaru's player was young boy of fifteen. He and Jolly Glass were relatives, with Jolly's player being the older cousin. The two had started playing together at Jolly's request, telling his aunt that because of his big move to Seattle, he wanted to be able to do something with his favorite cousin.

The last thing Jolly probably wanted was to make his little cousin scared.

"Tony," Jolly said again, this time with more resolution in his voice. "It is pretty sweet, huh? We're gonna have to be careful, though."

The party spent a few moments amongst themselves - hesitating to really jump into the fight for fear of what could possibly happen. Afterall, to them the air in the ancient machine-god Alexander was real. According to the only surviving player, Bard Tanne, the immersion was complete during the event. Clothes and armor felt hot and sweaty, the air stifling and thick, a certain quality attributed to it like a mixture of oil, grease, and burning metal.

"It doesn't look like we can get out the normal way," the party's black mage, another au'ra named Ino Uchiha, commented. From the camera's angle, all that can be seen is how her head is tilted down and one of her hands is raised to her chin in thought. It was one of the few expressions that mimicked the emotes available in Final Fantasy XIV. "None of us can just… leave the duty."

"And we can't summon any mounts," Bard added. Out of all the players, he was the most concerned, and there was something in his voice that captured this concern. A review of all the players showed that Bard's player - Alexander Thurning - was a husband and father, and undoubtedly he was worried about whether or not he would make it back to see his wife and newborn child. "We're not locked in yet, but it doesn't look like the game wants us to leave either."

Turning away from the group, Bard unsheathed his sword and shield.

The whole party watched him with what must have been confused looks. This wasn't confirmed until Ino spoke up, saying, "Al… what are you thinking?"

"I think we have to beat the raid."

For a moment, no one said a thing, and in a later interview Alexander Thurning said he wondered why they couldn't have just waited for the event to end. The decision to fight the raid, he stated, was one of the worst decisions he could have ever made.

"We've never beat this floor before, though…." One of the healers, a scantily clad scholar named Misty Foxx, sounded timid. "Do you really think we can do it this time?"

Tutei scoffed and drew her bow out, "We've gotten close enough."

"Forty-five percent isn't 'close enough,' Toots," the other healer, dunesfolk named Kokoko Kokoko chided. "And there's no guarantee we'll even get there. We've had days where we don't make it to 50% until we've wiped several times. This isn't going to be easy."

"Hey, I'm a bard, remember?" Tutei defended. "I'm just trying to rally our spirit!"

"Jolly," Bard said, looking over his shoulder, "what do you say?"

"I say it's crazy," the warrior replied, being frank. He also looked to Chun Chunmaru, and shook his head. "But I don't see what else we could do."

"Right. Now our only problem is how do we activate our abilities?"

"Should be easy. Before it was a click of a button, so shouldn't it be just as easy now?"

"I hope so, but I haven't been able to activate any of my defensive skills."

"You really want to trigger one of those now before we fight?"

"Just Divine Veil."

"Well, maybe some of them will activate in the heat of battle, you know? Like instinct or reflexes?"

" _Really_ don't like the sound of that." Bard put his sword away and ran a hand through his hair, still hesitating. He didn't want to make a mistake, but they all knew that at this point, someone had to make a decision. "Maybe this won't be so bad. I mean, this is a game, right? If we mess up, we'll just respawn at the start."

The rest of the group nodded. It was a hopeful thought, one that reassured them, though still made them uncomfortable. No one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room - namely, what happened if they were wrong, and they didn't respawn?

It was a horrifying idea. Trapped in a difficult raid with no way out except to defeat the boss, and if you died there was no reset. No do-over, no echo.

Ideally, if this was the game, the players had nothing to worry about. According to the story, the heroes didn't fail, and what were they if not all warriors of light in their own stories?

After a little more talking, some of it strategy and some of it reassuring one another that they were just having another day raiding, the party stepped forward and prepared to take on the boss: Cruise Chaser.

They still worried that they wouldn't be able to activate their weapon skills and abilities, but Jolly assured each and every one of them would know what to do when the time came. Though the players may not know, the bodies of their characters had trained to do this since day one. They were masters of any weapon, any craft, any profession, that they wanted to be. There was no failure. Not really.

The resulting fight was a slaughter.

After psyching themselves up, the players surged forward with Bard being the main tank. He had managed to successfully concentrate and pull off a successful Shield Lob to begin his rotation, but everything after that was down hill.

Misty Foxx managed to get off a shield on herself, immediately drawing attention away from Bard before he could so much as figure out how to activate Circle of Scorn, let alone a Flash.

Cruise Chaser ripped through the shield with an auto-attack and a tank buster, nearly dropping Misty. Her summon - Eos - began casting but was too slow as another auto-attack fell the scholar before they could ever figure out how to properly heal. The summon vanished into the aether in a fleeting spectacle of light.

Cruise Chaser paused long enough to bring up their left arm - Left Laser Sword was next, and more than half the party now stood in its path. Mewster Purrfect managed to activate their Shukuchi in desperation but threw themselves at the boss instead of away.

Mewster Purrfect, Jolly Glass, Tutei Urumet, Chun Chunmaru, and Ino Uchiha took massive amounts of damage. Statistically speaking, only Jolly Glass was well off while the rest needed healing if they wanted to see anything longer than thirty seconds.

Tutei Urumet was next on the aggro charts, since they were one of the few players who had managed to do any sort of damage with their auto-attack. Otherwise known as knowing how to fire a bow.

Though unable to use any of her abilities, because she had managed to continually hit Cruise Chaser with arrows, Tutei watched almost helplessly as the massive boss loomed over her.

Cruise Chaser let out one more auto-attack, felling the auran bard.

Cries of desperation and horror echoed throughout the arena as the party was beginning to see what was happening. Blood pooled under the bodies, clear enough to see on the video recording. The players had lost their nerve, and unable to use their abilities freely they panicked.

Chun Chunmaru was quivering in a corner, while Jolly tried his best to get Cruise Chaser's attention. The warrior roegadyn was joined by Bard, who was continuing to spam Shield Lob to no great effect.

Strangely, reviewing the technical data showed the boss had ignored the aggro charts where the tanks were concerned Almost as if it had chosen to go after specific players.

Optical Sight started charging.

Kokoko and Ino were still in the center, and they failed to get out in time when the center exploded. They both fell to the ground sizzling and charred.

All who were left were Chun Chunmaru, Jolly Glass, and Bard Tanne.

Cruise Chaser turned and headed for Chun Chunmaru, and E.D.D. spawned.

E.D.D. was an additional enemy that appeared, and if the players couldn't beat down E.D.D. quick enough massive damage would hit the room. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem with a full party who knew what they were doing, but this was not normal.

E.D.D. turned to Jolly Glass whose attention was fully fixed on Cruise Chaser. One hand was stretched out as he ran towards the boss, screaming, "No! Tony!"

An auto-attack hit the dragoon, and pitiful scream of pain erupted from the dunesfolk. Then the next cleave started to charge as Cruise Chaser brought up its right arm.

E.D.D. hit Jolly, and before the warrior could react, Laser Sword Right activated. Jolly hit the ground split in two.

Bard, who for the most part hadn't been touched out of sheer luck, watched as both E.D.D. and Cruise Chaser turned to him. Terrified, Alexander Thurning said he was sure the game was playing some cruel joke on him by making him watch his whole party die while he (as a tank) could do nothing to stop the slaughter.

Screaming in defiance, throwing himself into despair and forgoing any sense of self-preservation, Bard rushed forward to meet his end.

But then the video recording blurs, the graphics warp and colors swirl together. The audio recordings imply that Bard, despite being along, continued fighting long enough after his party died to beat the event.

The player's interview states that after Jolly's death, he doesn't completely remember what happened, but he believes he was able to activate the paladin's unique defensive ability Hallowed Ground. That alone would have provided him with ten seconds of invulnerability. If by some miracle he was able to activate any other abilities, Bard's player would have been able to eek out small seconds of survival.

Those seconds appeared to be all that he needed, however. Though the technical data doesn't say Bard defeated Cruise Chaser, it does state he was forcibly removed from the arena by someone or something.

The last of the audio was Bard, screaming obscenities at Cruise Chaser, right before everything goes quiet and the traditional success fanfare of Final Fantasy can be heard, indicating duty complete - or a level up.

After the incident, Alexander Thurning quit Final Fantasy XIV completely and has yet to play another MMO. Official testimony of Square Enix shows no such event took place, however the players of Jolly Glass, Chun Chunmaru, Mewster Purrfect, Ino Uchiha, Tutei Urumet, Kokoko Kokoko, and Misty Foxx were all found in their respective homes unresponsive.

The players were all declared dead by medical professionals.

Currently, the character Bard Tanne still exists, but is inaccessible for play. Square Enix officials locked the account after attempts to delete the character failed. Most curious of all is that the character is equipped with a weapon, shield, and ability that the development team did not program into the game.

Item Name: Creator's Bane

Gladiator's Arm

Ph. Dmg: ?

Auto-Attack: ?

Delay: -

Item Level: 1

GLD PLD

Lv1

Item Name: Sentinel's Pauldron

Shield

Block Str: ?

Block Rte: ?

Item Level: 1

GLD PLD

Lv 1

Oath of Self

Spell

Cast: Instant

Recast: -

[Descriptive Text Error]

Duration: Life

Acquired: {PLD Icon} 60+

Affinity: PLD


	3. Chapter 3

Before we continue any further, I should make it plain that by reading these events, I have either died or disappeared. In accordance to my own wishes, these hand-written notes and findings are being uploaded by an anonymous ally in the hopes that others might take action in my absence.

My name is Victor Prez, and I'm a part-time security consultant. Typically, I'm contractually bound to withhold my client's information and findings, but the things I found in Final Fantasy XIV could not be withheld from the general public. I do not do this out of spite or anger, but concern and fear.

What you will read are my personal notes, un-edited by my anonymous ally. In the following reading I have chosen to forego lengthy descriptions about the various mechanics within Final Fantasy XIV (hereafter FFXIV or XIV). My intended audience are those interested parties who are familiar with the terminology and jargon surrounding the MMO, and who may be able to expand upon my information to a larger audience; however, if you so choose to stop reading any further I will end my introduction with a warning, and pray that you listen seriously to what it says:

The game is alive. Stop playing it. For the love of God, do not log in.

Dios ayudame.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, just letting you know that I'm currently participating in NaNoWriMo and then going to be dealing with some life stuff. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the new chap :)

* * *

Entry 1

February 17, 2017

[Note: While Victor made his intentions explicitly clear to me, I cannot bring these notes to you in their original format. The transition from his hand-written notes to an electronic medium doesn't go well, and simply uploading the images provides certain other… issues.

I have taken the liberty to modify his notes into a narrative format without removing any pertinent information. I understand why Victor wanted his notes un-edited; however, it will not serve the purpose of recounting the horrors he discovered.

I felt it necessary to let you all know this before reading further. Certain section may be left in a near-personalized note format, as it highlights Victor's thought process during his investigation. Please understand, though the format has changed his findings remain the same.]

Synopsis: Initial meeting with client. Client exhibited nervous tendencies, and answered questions with hesitance. Dodged questions, particularly in regard to the recent deaths attributed to their one of their games. Requests for data was denied. Client believes the deaths are unrelated to their game and are instead coincidental. Client requested I examine certain activity from third parties that might be abusing game programming and inserting new code to hijack other characters and perform complex hoaxes. Expressed extreme annoyance at recent events; believes competitors may be at fault.

 **10:43 a.m.** El Segunda, CA

My arrival to the U.S. headquarters of Square-Enix was informal. I had been sent by my agency to act as a scout for a potential job. Normally this entails that I ask a few questions regarding the nature of client's request, as well as supply them with any information they might need about my agency.

Rates aren't discussed, usually because the receptionist has already spoken to the clients and informed them that the agency is not cheap. I'm all the happier for it. I've worked with small agencies before, and nothing is as awkward as that moment where the client forgot to do their research, or ask their friends how much it'll cost to hire a private firm.

I was greeted by one of the receptionists, confirmed my meeting, and waited approximately ten minutes before I was escorted back to a sectioned off room. I was introduced to a man by the name of Aaron Fowls. Mr. Fowls was pleasant enough, smiled a lot, but was ultimately concerned with the situation his company now faced.

 _Fowls, Aaron_

Caucasian, late-thirties or early-forties, short brown hair, hazel eyes. No visible tattoos or obvious scarring. Employed by Square-Enix North America, but his position was unconfirmed during the initial meeting.

Mr. Fowls and I discussed the issue. According to Mr. Fowls, the team back at their main branch in Japan claimed that the root of their problem was human in nature, not technological. Someone either within their company, or with direct connection to their servers, was creating stunts that were aimed to drive players away from their game. The crux of their issue was that they didn't know who was behind the stunts, nor the reasoning. Hence why my firm was contacted. It was their hope that by hiring a private agency they would be able to gather proof of rival company tampering with their system, but they did not rule out lone wolf actors either.

When I began my questioning, Mr. Fowls became vague. In particular, I asked about the method they had used to identify the North American branch as the issue. Mr. Fowls claimed that he was not party to the details, only that "techs" in Japan had found an anomaly that was not computer based. He assured me that if it had been, my firm would not have been contacted.

I asked Mr. Fowls if he could think of anyone who might hold a grudge against the company, and he provided a few names of employees who had been fired or left under less than ideal circumstances. They would be worth checking out, but their motives didn't indicate any red flags.

Before our meeting concluded, I asked Mr. Fowls if there was a possibility to interview a couple of the workers. He agreed, but asked that I wait a few hours. There was a plan to begin a company meeting within the hour and then most of the workers would be taking lunch.

Session ended roughly **11:11 a.m.**


	5. Chapter 5

Once I was finished with Mr. Fowls I called back to my agency and was informed that I would be taking lead for the case. Due to budgeting issues, and some red tape, the firm couldn't send someone out again.

I was reassured that I would be compensated.

 **12:56 p.m.**

After their meeting and lunch, the first individual I questioned was a woman in her mid-twenties. She was a serious-looking woman with short hair and of asian descent. Her name was Melissa Chun. I had been given her name (along with a list of others) by Mr. Fowls just before he left for his lunch break. Square Enix's own human resources department had flagged recent suspicious behavior of its employees - either through their own browsing history on company computers, or through internal reporting.

Melissa Chun had moved to California from Washington where she'd attended college and held a job as an IT Specialist. She'd been hired by the North American branch to act as a go-between for the server company that housed the North American players, or as it was referred to by the employees and players a "data center."

I had asked Mr. Fowls for a room away from any heavy foot traffic, and set up my camera. When Ms. Chun arrived I introduced myself and explained to her that as good practice I recorded all of my interviews. She understood and signed a consent form I provided after a brief review.

{Video Attachment: _17Feb17 Case file no 27201308_ }

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Victor Perez: This is Victor Perez on behalf of Syne Inquiry Services. Location is El Segunda, California. Date reads February Seventeen, Twenty-Seventeen. Time now is thirteen o'seven. Miss, would you please state your name and occupation for my records?

Melissa Chun: Yes. My name is Melissa Chun, and I am a IT Specialist.

P: Miss Chun, what do you do specifically for the company?

C: Currently, I deconflict any issues between the North American data center and the company.

P: Does that include negotiating costs?

C: No. Any and all monetary discussions are done through the main branch in Japan. My team and I mostly deal with technical issues and provide potential solutions that we can enable on our end without the requirement of higher approval.

[There's a short pause. Victor's flipping through papers for something. Possibly the documents on why Ms. Chun was flagged.]

P: Can you tell me where you were at on January first, twenty-sixteen?

C: Uh, yeah. It was New Years and I had been out partying the night before with some friends.

P: And how about August thirtieth of the same year?

C: ...Uh, I worked that day, but aside from that I honestly couldn't say.

P: Last month, the seventeenth. Where were you?

C: I requested off, but was denied. There'd been some issue going on in our data center, and they wanted me here to do my usual deconfliction.

P: So you were present at the company between normal working hours?

C: A little after, actually. The issue caused some additional problems, and I didn't want to leave them for tomorrow. My schedule is already pretty full, and this thing wasn't helping.

P: What specifically was the issue?

[Pause for several moments.]

P: Ms. Chun?

C: Sorry, it's just that I'm not really sure how much I'm supposed to say. See, the issue was deemed special and all the workers that day had to sign NDA's about it. I had to talk circles around the data center people just to avoid violating the agreement.

P: I see. Well, I was hired on behalf of Square Enix to investigate this matter, but if you want to confirm….

C: No, no…. Sorry, it's not just the NDA. A lot of weird things happened that day and I'm not really sure how to….

P: How about we start from the beginning?

C: Yeah… okay. Uh, well. I guess it started with Charlie. Charlie Reddings. He's one of our moderators for the game, and he had responded to a number of reports about bugs. Bugs that weren't typical code bugs.

P: How do you mean?

C: Well, normally players will send in a report about a boss mechanic not functioning normally, or monsters spawning in mid-air off the map…, but this…. These reports were about players being locked out from whole content. NPCs missing, or doing things they normally don't. Even player characters performing emotes that aren't programmed into the game.

P: How was Mr. Reddings attempting to handle these reports? You say he's a moderator, but did he also work for the company as a programmer?

C: No. Charlie is just really friendly. Likes reassuring and helping others whenever he can. I think he came into work that day after playing the game at home so he probably got a dose of confusion first-hand.

[More papers shifting.]

P: Does Mr. Reddings work for the company currently?

C: No. Shortly after the issue he was fired from his position for performance reasons.

P: Do you stay in contact with Mr. Reddings?

C: A little. Mostly through the game when I have time.

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Pause


	6. Chapter 6

February 20, 2017  
 **9:21 a.m.**

[9:21] (Sun Moonkitty) Excuse me… Can you help me?  
[9:21] (Roy Shatterscream) Hey! Sure. What's up?  
[9:21] (Sun Moonkitty) Well, my friend and I just started playing, and we need to run this dungeon, but we don't have four people. We wanted to see if anyone here wanted to run with us?

When was the last time a newbie had asked for help like this? Nowadays most new players had at least one friend who played Final Fantasy Fourteen, or they were already a part of a Free Company.

Charlie stared at his computer screen, brow furrowed as he deliberated whether or not he wanted to spend time helping new players today. Normally, he wasn't against the idea, but today he had hoped to investigate a rumor that had been circulating the official forums. _Then again_ , he thought, _the rumor isn't going anywhere_. Besides, when was the last time he'd actually stopped to help a new player? He hadn't been on the game in weeks out of bitterness, but he missed the game. He missed his friends.

Sighing, Charlie replied and asked for an invitation to Sun's party.

[9:22] (Roy Shatterscream) What dungeon do you need? Copperbell?  
[9:22] (Sun Moonkitty) Tam-Tara Deepcroft.

"Oh, so they're a little behind. Must have put off doing the MSQ to level." Leaning back into his chair, Charlie accepted the party invitation and went over both of the players information. Sun Moonkitty, a lancer, and his pugilist friend Hahasay Yashaha. Sure enough, both players were level twenty.

In Final Fantasy Fourteen, players were required to complete certain content with the help of other. Dungeons were just one of those that required a party of four people, and there were two methods of recruiting your help. Either find players yourself (typically friends) or use a queuing system that placed you with random players from any of the servers in your data center. Dungeons were level restricted, but fortunately for these two players they didn't have to worry about being locked out of any dungeon just yet. They did have to worry about queue times, however.

Square Enix's queuing system wasn't horrible - at least not so much anymore, and the company was constantly trying to improve it - but players like Sun and Hahasay, who played damage dealing classes, had the worst time getting random parties together. They were better off collecting party members locally like they had been doing.

[9:23] (Roy Shatterscream) So that makes 3. We just need our healer.  
[9:23] (Hahasay Yashaha) know anyone?  
[9:23] (Roy Shatterscream) No, all my friends are offline.  
[9:23] (Sun Moonkitty) GIve me a little bit! I'll find somoene! Promise!  
[9:23] (Roy Shatterscream) Sure. I've got a few things I can take care of anyways.

Without waiting, Charlie began his teleport. If it was going to be a bit, he could run side content. Get some crafting materials, or play some games at the Gold Saucer. Whatever wasn't going to lock him into a cutscene or long quest chain.

Charlie huffed as the casting bar rolled on, and the loading screen took over. How many things did he have left to complete before the new expansion dropped?

Too many. He didn't want to think about it.

[9:27] (Sun Moonkitty) Got someone!  
Paladin Tanne joined the party.

"Oh neat, a White Mage." Looking at their party list, Charlie mentally prepared himself for what was to come next. Tam-Tara wasn't going to be challenging, but he didn't want the two players to be bored just rushing through the dungeon either.

[9:28] (Sun Moonkitty) Should we go?  
[9:28] (Roy Shatterscream) I'm good.  
[9:28] (Hahasay Yashaha) rdy  
[9:29] (Paladin Tanne) Ready here.

It was only a few short seconds later that the dungeon queue window popped up. Charlie had forgotten to turn his volume down, so when the notification sound played, it echoed something loud inside his quiet and mostly empty apartment living room.

Cringing, Charlie hovered his mouse over the accept button while the timer ticked down to automatic dismiss. He shook his head has he clicked, and muttered, "Need to change that setting once we get into the dungeon."

All party members accepted, and then the screen faded black.

The world faded black.

As if something had decided to block the sun from outside, plunging his whole apartment in darkness. The few lights in his apartment, the ones from the various electronics throughout his home, disappeared.

In their place was emptiness. Eerie, oppressing, and endless. The darkness did not recede. It did not disappear. Not at first anyways. Instead it stuck to the walls of his apartment, creeping closer. He didn't know how he knew that when he couldn't see the walls to begin with, but he knew.

Something was in the apartment with him.

Something else happened, then. He didn't notice at first, but the background noise of daily life was gone. He only noticed it when his hands started to shake, and the sound of flooding water filled his ears in a steady rhythm that matched his heartbeat.

 _Thumpthump. Thumpthump. Thumpthump. Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump._

His breathing quickened, and it sounded so odd in the vacuum of quiet. It drowned out the rushing blood in his ears, the chaotic drumming of his heart, but it didn't stop him from shaking, scared, or the feeling of his heart banging against his chest. Demanding to be let out.

He felt trapped.

The walls had gotten smaller- no. The thing had gotten closer. It was circling him. He couldn't move. If he did, it would get him. It would find him. It didn't know where he was now, but if he moved it would.

The chair disappeared from beneath him, and Charlie fell to the ground with a scream that died after it left his lips.

The silence had swallowed it.

Then, the darkness swallowed him. He shut his eyes tight in fear, expecting something though he didn't know what. Death, maybe. The thing would eat him. Devour him like some rabid creature from the wild. It would tear into his gut and rip out his stomach.

Or maybe it would feast on his throat first.

He shook violently.

Nothing happened.

Another moment passed, and all at once something happened.

The pressure disappeared. Replaced by damp air that felt stale on his skin. Sound came back too, with the soft lull of water dripping off in the distance among other unfamiliar sounds. The same stale air smelled of must and humidity and… more unfamiliar smells.

Still shaking, Charlie opened his eyes and was greeted with soft torchlight and a gently sloping hallway that wound down to a cavern room with an ominous purple orb floating in the air. Burning sconces were mounted to the wall, but the fickle torchlight failed to fully illuminate the hallway before him.

At first, he didn't know what to say. The words escaped him, and he wasn't sure if there was anything to say. Something inside him wanted to scream, however. A primal fear that rose from the pit of his stomach, but caught just shy of his throat. He wanted to scream. He knew he should. Still, something inside him stopped him from doing just that.

 _Enemies ahead,_ a small voice told him. _Two_.

 _That's right, he said to himself. I know this hallway. I've seen it numerous times before over the shoulder of my character. But how did I…?_

Just behind him, a new voice began whimpering. When Charlie turned around, there stood the lancer, Hahasay, looking down at his own hands in disbelief. "W-What's going on?!" Big brown eyes turned and looked up at Charlie. While lalafel's looked somewhat like children compared to other races in Final Fantasy Fourteen, any illusion of child-like qualities were thrown out the window when they spoke. Hahasay's voice was (albeit terrified) rich and he still sounded young. If Charlie had to, he'd have said that Hahasay was in his early to mid-twenties.

The two of them turned to see Sun, who looked just as terrified as Hahasay. Her heterochromia eyes were as large as dish plates, darting back-and-forth between her three party members, and she was clutching at her chest. She wouldn't say anything for the longest time, but eventually, she managed to get out, "I… I'm a girl…."

 _Oh I really do not want to get into this right now_. Crass though it sounded, the party had far bigger things to worry about. Shifting his attention, Charlie looked to their final party member - the au'ra white mage, Paladin Tanne.

Of the four of them Paladin was the only one who seemed to be the least shocked. Rather, the white mage stopped looking at their hands and allowed them to fall back to their side. They looked back at Charlie with something akin to resolve behind their eyes, and only gave a wordless nod.

Before Charlie could ask any questions, Paladin reached for their staff - though Charlie had seen its like before, he did not know the name of it, only that it creeped him out. For the staff was not a plain piece of crafted wood or metal, but some living creature that with twigs for arms, eyes that bounced around frantically, flowers above its "head" like hair, and what looked like a mouth that opened and closed as if it were mimicking speech - twirling it in the air briefly before they enveloped themselves inside a swirling brown-gold aura.

Magic energy gathered at the tip of Paladin's staff, and after a second of silent chanting, Paladin thrust out his arms to either side. Charlie knew what was happening even before the felt magic coalesce around him, solidifying in an invisible barrier with a sound like metal scraping against metal before being locked together.

"Protect." A staple spell among healers, it was meant to help ease the damage parties would be faced with during their upcoming battles. It wouldn't protect from all damage, but it would reduce damage by a small percent. At least, that's how it functioned when they played the game. Now it was anyone's guess on how the spell would work.

But how did Paladin know how to cast the spell?

Charlie went to open his mouth, but Sun broke in before he could get a word in, "Uh...R-Roy? I-is that you? C-Can you hear us?"

Puzzled, Charlie looked down at Sun and his brows furrowed. It was only then that he realized he hadn't said anything, and all of his actions could have been typical of a player character - not a human being. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Are you guys okay?" He knew they weren't, but he knew how helpful it could be to someone to just hear those words. That kindness could be like an anchor to some people. In a way, by asking them, they were helping to anchor him as well.

Charlie was just as scared and confused as them - well, not as Paladin, but they were an outlier - but no one was going to ask him how he was doing. He was the veteran player here, along with Paladin, while Sun and Hahasay were still green. Charlie was not only dealing with people who were suddenly in a world much different from their own, but in a dungeon no less.

His only thanks was that it was such a low-level dungeon. The four of them were likely to make it out of here alive than they were to die. Still, the notion of death made Charlie uneasy. He didn't want to gamble as things were.

Looking at the two newbies, Charlie gathered up his courage and put on a brave face. Offering them a gentle, reassuring smile, he said, "So, looks like we're in something of a unique situation." Turning to Paladin, Charlie asked, "Can you check the door real quick? If we can avoid the dungeon all together, I think that'd be best."

Paladin replied with a deep bass voice, "Hmmn. Understood."

"Do you know what's going on?" Hahasay's question dragged Charlie back to the two newbies, and he saw hope on their faces.

Charlie fought to keep his smile up, and hoped the two wouldn't hear his heart drumming against his ribs. Adrenaline was already starting to kick in, he could feel it. That and the anxious, just out of reach fight-or-flight feeling.

He wanted to run. He wanted to run bad.

"No," he said honestly. Then clarified, "At least, not the 'how' of it." Taking another look around he rambled on, saying, "If we're actually in the game we shouldn't have to worry too much. But without knowing the extent of the game mechanics at play-"

"We shouldn't count on things like resurrection." Paladin interrupted, and Charlie nodded to agree. Then, in a brisque tone the White Mage said, "Door's locked."

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice, then." Turning his back to the rest of the party, Charlie took a few steps forward stared down at his avatar (or rather, body. That was going to take some time to get used to). Before being thrust into the game he'd never considered how much armor weighed, or how restrictive it could feel.

Character movements on the screen were always so fluid, and looked effortless.

"A-are we really going to try and go forward?" asked Sun from behind. Soft footsteps from behind told Charlie the girl was moving to him, and then she was there, looking up at him and no less reassured than before.

 _Don't let them see,_ he told himself. _Don't let them know._

"We have no choice," Paladin answered. "The way back is locked, and we have no way to access the menus to quit the dungeon normally. That leaves only two other options: wait here and risk a slow death, or push ahead. And I do not believe any of us are willing to sit around here forever."

"We'll take it slow," Charlie told them. "There are two enemies up ahead that we'll have to immediately engage, but unless something else has radically changed they shouldn't pose much of a problem. Sun, Hahasay, you two are melee class DPS so you're going to have to get up in the enemies face with me." He paused and looked to Sun whose face had grown pale, "But don't worry. If I do this right they'll be too worried about me to spare you a second."

Sun dropped her eyes, and looked far more timid than Charlie was hoping to see. She mumbled, "Y-yeah…. It's just…."

Hahasay walked up to her then and placed a hand on her thigh - which was about has high as his stubby arms would let him reach. "Hey," he told her, taking the role of supportive friend, "we're going to be okay."

Hahasay's words helped Charlie a bit as well, but not nearly as much as what they were going to have to discuss next.

The Warrior turned around and placed a hand on his hip, leveling his muddy brown eyes at the au'ra. "Alright. Next order of business is to address the elephant in the room." A small pause stretched out as the newbies looked back and forth between the two men, and a smile spread over Charlie's lips. "Paladin, how'd you use Protect?"


	7. Chapter 7

Paladin went silent for a moment, and his brow creased as he thought on the question. The moment passed, and the White Mage looked to the rest of the party, saying, "In some ways, it was instinctual." Pausing, Paladin took out his staff and looked at it. "But in other ways, it was like using skills any other time."

Charlie furrowed his own brow, "That's not all that helpful."

Paladin looked up, seemingly embarrassed, "I know. It's just difficult for me to describe. Like, I saw everyone and I knew the first thing I had to do was cast Protect. I just, kind of went for the skill on my hotbar like I normally would, but in my mind. I knew what animation to expect so…."

"The magic did the rest."

"Yes."

Well, that was somewhat troubling. Assuming the world now functioned as Paladin explained, the players were required to know two pieces of information if they wanted to use their skills. First, they had to know where the skill was on their hotbar prior to being flung into this nightmare; secondly, they had to know the animation. Both conditions required a level of instinctual knowledge that newbie players wouldn't have. Especially with any new abilities they would learn as they levelled - provided they were here long enough to level, and Charlie hoped they wouldn't be.

"Well, that's not any more helpful," Charlie muttered. Frustration and despair welled up within the Warrior, but he fought them back as best he could. He then turned to the newbies, Sun and Hahasay, and wondered what he might be able to do for them. Monk as one of the few classes he hadn't levelled, and dragoon wasn't much better off. Charlie had only recently gotten it to level thirty - the level where players unlock the job stone to finally _become_ a dragoon.

 _I don't even know what abilities they might have. Damn._

"Roy...?" It was Sun. Something in Charlie's face must have worried her, because she looked a little pale again.

Charlie forced his face to relax and smiled again. "Everything's alright," He reassured. Then, hopeful, he asked, "Sun, Hahasay, how well do the two of you know your classes?"

The two newbies looked back at one another.

Hahasay spoke first, "Like we said earlier, we're pretty new to the game."

"We levelled up as much as we did because we figured this would be like any other RPG," Sun chimed in. "We figured: the higher our level, the less trouble we'd have with enemies."

"If only," Charlie replied with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?"

Paladin stepped in, "In the open world you'll find yourself handling enemies easily. However, dungeons have a level sync that force you to be at a certain level if you're too high. As you reach the level cap, you find your gear gets sync'd instead."

Sun looked as though Paladin's explanation hadn't helped. Sighing, Charlie clarified further, "Outside of a this dungeon, Paladin and I might be level sixty - the current level cap, or highest level a player can achieve. But here, in this dungeon normally, we're maxed out at only level nineteen. Our gear levels also drop. If they didn't you'd have players in low-level dungeons running around with powerful end-game equipment."

"And that'd be overpowered," Hahasay said. "Okay, I didn't realize our gear could be locked like that."

"It's not unheard of in MMOs," Charlie continued. "If developers didn't take measures like this, you could get players who dread doing older content because it's not a challenge, or they just do something silly like pull the whole dungeon's worth of enemies. Then you have newer players who can't get the help they need, or don't get to experience the dungeons as they're supposed to be. Furthermore, by forcing players to deal with the content as a challenge, even a nuisance-like challenge, it also provides them with the opportunity to teach new players like yourselves."

"Is it really all that important though?" Hahasay asked and folded his arms across his chest. "Would it really be all that bad just to drag new players through old dungeons like this?"

Charlie replied with a smile, "If you're trying to build a positive atmosphere, and a community that's willing to help one another, I think so." His smile faded, then, and his voice became serious again, "What do you remember about your classes? This is important so think hard."

Sun looked down at her palms for a moment, flexing her fingers and balling her hand into a fist. Hesitating at first, she said, "I… um… well I know I'm something like a martial artist. A Pugilist? I punch and kick things?"

"And I'm a Lancer," Hahasay followed. He took his spear off his back and looked at it. "I stick the pointy end into enemies."

 _Well, they're not wrong,_ Charlie thought dryly. "But you guys remember your abilities well enough, yeah? You were grinding to level twenty so you used them a lot."

"Sure," Hahasay replied with a nonchalant shrug. "I just spam 'Impulse Drive' right?"

" _What?_ "

"...No?"

Charlie sighed. Impulse Drive was an attack that got stronger if the lancer attacked the enemy from the rear. It was a single attack, and to a new player the high potency - the measure of how strong an attack could be - made it appealing to just use repeatedly. Especially considering how much it cost to use at a glance.

Melee fighters, like damage dealing classes such as Pugilists and Lancers (and their respective jobs of Monk and Dragoon) paid to use abilities with what was referred to as "Tactical Points" or more commonly TP. In much the same way that magic users such as Conjurer or Thaumaturge (and their respective jobs of White Mage and Black Mage) used Magic Points, or MP, to pay for their spells, TP was a resource that players had to constantly watch or else they couldn't use abilities.

And being unable to use your abilities was often a death sentence. Raw damage from a player's weapon was never enough to take down an enemy who out matched you, and it's only with the help of abilities and weapon skills that players could be such powerhouses within the game's world.

But Hahasay was missing out on damage, and actually wasting TP by spamming Impulse Drive. "Look, you should have had an ability called 'Heavy Thrust' and at least one other 'Thrust' ability as well. Impulse Drive isn't bad, but right now you should be using the others. Impulse Drive will be more useful to you when you get higher and can do 'Disembowel' but for right now just forget it."

"Oh… okay." Hahasay sounded a little disappointed, but nodded his understanding all the same.

"What about me…?" Sun's squeaky-nervous voice drew Charlie's attention, and his stomach dropped. How was he supposed to help her when he hadn't even levelled the class?

Thankfully, Paladin swooped in to save them, "Your primary focus should be getting through your stances to keep your buff 'Greased Lightning' going for as long as possible. Though, unlike Hahasay you need to worry more about where you stand."

"How do you mean?"

"Currently, Hahasay only needs to worry about delivering his Heavy Thrust ability from the sides. All other abilities he has can be used from the rear of an enemy where their defense is lower."

"Oh! Right, and I've got abilities that require both the side and the rear, don't they?"

"That's right." For a moment, Sun looked not only reassured, but happy. As though she'd forgotten their situation for the briefest second. It warmed Charlie's heart to see a newbie being so involved in the game, but then her smile started to fade, and so too did the warmth Charlie felt. "But… I don't remember what abilities did what."

Stepping forward, Paladin rested a hand on Sun's shoulder and gave the closest thing to a reassuring smile that a male au'ra face could manage. "Sadly, neither do I. However, should Roy and Hahasay do their part faithfully, as should I, then you should have ample room to figure it out as we go along. But we cannot remain here."

With that, Paladin looked up at Charlie and in return the Warrior nodded a silent understanding that passed between them.

It was time to take on the first mob of enemies.

Charlie turned to face the hallway before the party and swallowed back a lump in his throat. Down the snaking hallway, barely visible from where they all stood, two enemies stood waiting.

 _I guess we can assume that the NPCs act more or less to their original programming,_ he thought. For Charlie, at least, this was reassuring since it meant they wouldn't have to worry about strange roaming enemies that could make battles much worse. Still… he worried that things weren't all as they appeared. _Only way we'll know is if we go. I need to set the pace._

Inhaling deeply, Charlie reached back behind himself and closed his hands around the sturdy handle of his axe. Though it carried the blood-splattered appearance of the fabled weapon Bravura, it was something else entirely. And if not for the level sync mechanics that likely limited his abilities now, Charlie could rip through every enemy in the dungeon effortlessly.

There was a strange feeling of familiarity when the axe was resting in both of his hands. As though he knew it better than a childhood friend, or had carried it with him through countless struggles.

And in a way, he had.

 _Just one more challenge to face, Bravura._

With that, Charlie lumbered forward, his heavy armor announcing his presence to the whole dungeon. And to any thing that couldn't hear the heavy clank of his armor, when the two enemy lancers were near enough, Charlie let out an inhuman roar.

He let instinct take over, shifting his hands on the handle of his axe as he hefted it high over his head and felt a surge of _something_ roll through him and into his weapon.

Charlie didn't think about it. He didn't spare a moment to follow the train of thoughts and speculations that branched out from one another like forks of lightning. Instead, his mind began filing away details.

The swirl of colors that danced under his feet.

The small wave of exhaustion that followed after the surge of power found its way into his axe.

The hum of his axe in his hands as he brought it down, swinging as hard as he could, envisioning a wave of energy slicing through the air and rushing straight towards his enemy.

Power left him, and the force of that power bursting from the blade of his axe carried him off the ground for a second before he was back down and charging forward.

Something else rose up in Charlie at that moment. Something he'd never felt in his whole life. It was an alien sensation, one that he only recognized because it came from some primal part of his brain.

Thrill.

He was wading into battle for the first time… and he was excited.

Not scared, like he knew he should be.

He was smiling.

And in the back of his mind, the part filing away careful notes for later review, a cold shiver worked its way into there. The shiver was familiar. Not quite as primal as the thrill he felt, but he would recognize it all the same.

Fear.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear that something was not right.

But not a fear of death.


	8. Chapter 8

No one anticipated that their first fight would be some magical, well-honed, result of countless hours of practice. In fact, the general worry in all of their heads was perhaps that they would make too many mistakes.

And that fear, along with so many others, settled itself annoyingly in the back of their minds. Even as Charlie grabbed the attention of the two lancers.

Charlie rushed the two enemies, and his axe was a whirlwind as he spun and shouted with effort. But to the astonishment of all, the enemies didn't immediately engage the party. The one Charlie had hurled his Tomahawk ability at, he gritted his teeth immediately after being hit and his eyes became clouded with fury.

But the other one? Before he so much as moved towards Charlie, he brought his fingers to his lips and let loose a loud whistle that reverberated throughout the cavern. The sound echoed off the far walls and reaching the lowest depths, as well as escaped upwards through the enormous hole that poured daylight down into the abyss. Only after that did he rush towards the hyur.

The first lancer, however, his attention falling solely on Charlie. He levelled his pike at the Warrior and thrusted with intent to kill.

But Charlie had already closed the distance between them, and was falling into the motions of his rotation - the series of moves that he _knew_ he could do. The ones that would flow from one to another - and as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hand already sliding down the shaft of his axe for a better grip, his armor deflected the pike.

That was when he unleashed his next attack: "Brutal Swing."

It was an ability that Marauders and Warriors alike employed to increase their damage.

Final Fantasy Fourteen separated its action between two primary categories: On Global Cooldown, and Off Global Cooldown (or GC and oGCD, respectively). There were other categories like spells, actions, and weapon skills, but those were subcategories if anything, and really mattered when determining how certain positive status effects, also known as buffs, worked.

If a player wanted to maximize their effectiveness, though, they had to know which abilities were GC and which were oGCD. In the game, players had about two-point-five seconds between every global cooldown where they couldn't use another ability. Unless, that was, the ability was oGCD. Utilizing these abilities could boost their damage, or apply negative status effects (or debuffs) to an enemy.

Brutal Swing was one such ability.

It didn't _just_ increase Charlie's damage, it took his enemy by surprise and stunned them. The lancer couldn't dodge. Post-strike, the lancer had over-extended himself and there was too much weight behind his pike. He stumbled forward, catching Charlie's attack with his back and falling to the ground.

Charlie didn't follow-up. If this was still the game in some way, the lancer would stay stunned for another second, and even then he would still come after the Warrior.

Instead, Charlie shifted his focus to the second lancer - the whistler - who had taken their own pike in both hands and cautiously watched for what would happen next. Their dark eyes darted to their companion, and something like curious horror flooded their face when they realized Charlie wasn't going to finish the first lancer off.

Howling, Charlie advanced on Whistler, but he was stumbling.

Clumsy feet tried to maintain balance after Brutal Swing, but the momentum of the swing combined with Warrior's heavy armor…. His body wanted to keep spinning. The result was that, when Charlie brought his axe to bear for his next attack it came down and barely grazed Whistler.

To counter, Whistler shifted his stance. Their hands moved across the length of their polearm as he wound it back for an attack Charlie could recognize.

"Leg Sweep."

A lancer staple, and much different from Brutal Swing. It was an oGCD ability that stunned enemies, and Charlie was wide open.

Time slowed down as adrenaline caught up to the Warrior, and his brain began processing everything faster than normal. For the briefest of seconds he realized his mistake.

Charlie was still thinking in terms of the game.

This was combat. Actual, honest to God, combat.

Somethings were the same, yes, but in that moment before the haft of the lancer's pike came down and swept his legs out from underneath him, Charlie caught a flicker of movement just out of the corner of his eye.

A wave of water surged forward, seemingly out of nowhere, slamming into Whistler. The lancer screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the the water colliding with him, knocking him back and away from Charlie.

Whistler bounced once, twice, and his body rolled off the edge where he finally got his voice back. Just in time to scream.

Icy fingers ran down the length of Charlie's spine as he watched Whistler disappear over the ledge. The lancer's horrid scream quickly faded away as he fell, but more screams and the sound of the newbies struggling to hold off the first lancer forced Charlie's attention back to the battle.

He tried to ignore the sickening cold he felt.

He turned his attention back to see Sun, collapsed on the ground holding her gut and sobbing.

She was shaking. Instinct took over once again, and the icy cold was replaced by furious rage. Those were his teammates. He had a job. He was the tank. He had to _protect_ them.

Howling once more, Charlie crossed the distance between him and the lancer, who was now busy dealing with Hahasay. The tiny Lancer had forced his enemy to retreat from Sun, but he was shaken and barely holding his own.

The enemy lancer took his pike and thrust it at Hahasay, who tried desperately to deflect the attack using his own trident-like polearm. The newbie succeeded, and what could have been a lethal blow instead turned into a nasty gash that ran across the lalafell's bicep.

Hahasay cried out and fell back, tripping over Sun and losing the grip on his weapon. That was about when Charlie appeared. Two hands on his axe, lifting it high over his head, and a inhuman rage in his eyes.

Screaming, Charlie could only see what he wanted: this man, this thing, this enemy dead.

It had hurt not only Sun, but Hahasay as well.

Another ability came to mind. "Skull Sunder," And Charlie desperately wished the ability to be like its namesake as he dropped the axe, putting all of his weight behind the attack, down on the head of the lancer.

 _Crack_.

It was like hearing a ceramic bowl being broken over wood. It was a sickening sound. One that turned Charlie's stomach, while greymatter and hot blood slapped him across the face.

The giant blade of his axe was buried inches deep into the head of the lancer, whose face had taken on a mixture of surprise and pain for a brief second. Then, as quickly as the shock and pain had come, death settled over their enemy. His whole body went slack, and ripped itself away from Charlie's axe.

Charlie stumbled backwards, and Paladin rushed over to steady him. Nothing was said between the two veterans. Paladin was there only to keep Charlie upright.

When the White Mage was certain Charlie wasn't going to tumble backwards and fall off the nearby edge, he immediately turned to the two newbies.

The two were both laying on their sides, holding their wounds. Sun was the worst off, and Paladin saw to her first. The girl was sobbing and writhing in pain, and Paladin had to forcibly remove her hands to get a good look at the wound.

"Is she going to be alright?" Charlie asked, but the blue-skinned au'ra said nothing. Instead he set about his work, muttering small comforting words to Sun and instructing her not to move. Then, rising to his feet, Paladin drew his staff from his back before wrapping himself in a halo of aether. Rather than distract the white mage from his duty, Charlie stepped around to Hahasay.

"It hurts." The pain was obvious in the boy's voice, and Charlie thought he was doing well all things considering.

Unsure what to say, Charlie tried not to think too hard and replied, "Yeah, I bet. You did a good job of getting aggro off of Sun."

"Aggro?" The boy hissed when Charlie grabbed his arm and started examining it. The gash was fairly deep, but not life-threatening. Once Paladin was done seeing to Sun, it wouldn't be too long before they were back at the dungeon crawl. … If the newbies were still up for it.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Enemies have a mechanic called enmity. It determines who they focus on and it's usually the tank's job to keep enemy attention on them. We call it a lot of things, but more commonly we call it aggro." Looking at Hahasay in the eyes, Charlie asked, "How are you feeling? Aside from the pain, I mean."

Hahasay shrugged his shoulders, but Charlie caught an uncontrolled shudder. How hard was adrenaline pumping through the kid? "I'm okay, I think. I mean, my arm hurts, but what about Sun? He looked like he got hurt really bad."

Charlie took a moment to look across to Sun and Paladin. Paladin had finished doing what white mages do best, and was kneeling next to the miqo'te. They were talking low, and Charlie only caught the odd word or two but it sounded like Paladin was helping Sun work through her trauma. Or, well, his.

 _Really not going to worry about that now,_ Charlie thought. _More pressing issues to deal with first._ Instead he turned back to Hahasay, "Looks like everything's okay. You should be good to get up. Why don't we sit down and talk about a few things before he continue on."

"More talking?" Hahasay let out a little groan, and seemed to deflate, "I just want to fight more bad guys."

Charlie blinked and, despite the situation, laughed.

Rising to his feet, Charlie gave brief orders to Hahasay to go and talk to Paladin while he checked on something. Then, once the little lancer was on his feet, Charlie turned and took long strides away from the group, and just to the ledge that doubled as their path forward.

Just ahead were two insectoid enemies that stood on four long legs. In a way, they reminded the warrior of spiders which must have been the inspiration for their design. Those would be easier to fight than the last two enemies. Or, at the very least, Charlie hoped they would be. He didn't want a repeat of the last fight to happen, but to do that he couldn't think of this as a game.

But wasn't it?

Wasn't the world they were in still Final Fantasy Fourteen?

Narrowing his eyes, Charlie began to formulate his next strategy when someone walked up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Sun, looking a little pale and timid, looked up at him. "U-uh… W-we're ready to talk."

Brown eyes, flashed over to see Hahasay and Paladin were talking. Hahasay was holding his spear and demonstrating something to the white mage. Charlie, not wanting to hold them up, looked back at Sun with a reassuring smile and nodded. "Got it. Thanks."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the long hiatus folks. When life comes at you fast... Anyways, I hope you've been enjoying Level Up :) If you've made it this far, please leave a comment about what you think of the story so far. I'd love to hear from more of you! I'd also love to hear from those who've already dropped a comment before. Anyways, where ever y'all are in life, I hope you're well. If not, I hope my story can bring you some enjoyment. We're at part 9, now, and we've still got a little ways to go. Without further ado - the story!

* * *

After the group had a short talk, they proceeded with the dungeon, and Charlie was incredibly impressed with his party as a whole. While their first fight had been incredibly traumatic, it had also given them confidence. It had taught them.

When the four of them went at the next two enemies, they handled them better. The group after that, however... Not as well. The team struggled with enemies who were more than animalistic. The two spider enemies had been easy to funnel towards Charlie where he could keep their attention. But the cult lancers and marauders, who could make their own decisions (and did) proved to be more challenging.

The four of them were sitting down in one of the many dim-lit rooms, pale torch light flickering and casting long shadows that added to the ominous atmosphere. They were catching their breath, having just cut down another mob of enemies. To the group's right was they hallway they had come from, and ahead of them was another that led to the first tough enemy.

Panting, Charlie looked to the three others and said, "You guys wait here. I'm going to see what's up ahead." Sun and Hahasay didn't say anything, but Paladin started wandering over before Charlie could start.

Reluctantly Charlie stopped, and raised a questioning brow to the White Mage. In response, Paladin just tilted their head, and in a low voice asked, "Are you sure we can keep this pace?" He paused long enough to shoot the two newbies with a concerned look before returning his attention to the Warrior. "I'm not sure if we can."

Taking a deep breath, Charlie took a moment to consider what they knew. "When this was a game, a good casual dungeon run would only take an hour. Maybe an hour an and a half. NPC characters would take maybe eight times as long to go through and clear a dungeon, and that's after an adventuring party would go through. As it is, I don't know how long we've already been down here. We have no food, or water, and we can't leave through the doors back at the beginning. Our best bet is to get out of here as soon as possible, and go back to Gridania where we can rest up and be safe until we figure out what's going on. But to do that we need to clear the dungeon. That much is clear to me.

"What's more," he went on to point out, "we've got nothing but enemies in here. All of the mobs, even the ones that we don't necessarily have to engage, are hostile. Can we keep this pace? Yeah, I think so. Not for days at a time, but we don't need days. We need hours, maybe."

"But the other two…."

"Are going to be fine. You and I are."

Paladin pointed out, "We're also much higher level."

"I don't think that has anything to do with it," Charlie countered. "If it was based on our level, I think we'd be just as tired." Paladin's brow furrowed, and the au'ra looked at him with confusion but did not say anything. Instead, he waited for Charlie to continue. "Think about it a bit. This is Tam Tara, and that means you and I would have been hit with a level sync. We should be, what? Level nineteen?"

"That's if this place has something like a level sync."

"You're right," Charlie admitted, "but I think it does. Or, at the very least I believe something is capping our abilities. Regardless, I still don't think it has anything to do with our levels. Our levels might account for _something_ , but whatever it is I don't think that our levels are 'the' explanation."

The look on Paladin's face didn't waver, but he slowly let a single word roll off his tongue, "Experience." Charlie nodded. "We don't have our levels, but we still have our experience?"

The warriors face twisted into a strained expression as he tried to explain, "Yeah, I gotta admit it's not the greatest theory, but at the same time we don't have a whole lot more to go on. … Then again…."

"What?"

"In Final Fantasy Fourteen lore, we're the Warriors of Light. Blessed by the Mother Crystal with the gift of the Echo. Right?"

"Right."

Lifting a hand to his chin, Charlie let the gears of his brain turn for a moment, speaking his thoughts out loud, "Strictly speaking, in game terms, it was a narrative device that helped move the plot forward. Lore-wise, though, it gives us the ability to experience a hundred-thousand failed fights which we can learn from."

"I don't follow."

"If we have the Echo, then simplest explanation might just be you and I are reliving our memory of this dungeon, even though Sun and Hahasay are doing it for the first time."

Paladin let out a long sigh and rubbed his broad forehead with the heel of his palm. "This is a headache. Do we really need to overthink it this much?" Charlie replied with a uncertain shrug, which was met with yet another sigh. "I suppose this is my fault for starting the conversation. However, the fact remains that those two still are new, and this pace is too hard on them. We should reconsider our method."

Charlie took another look at the two newbies who were still sitting on the ground out of breath. Paladin had a point, and Charlie couldn't ignore their exhaustion. If they kept fighting in this state they were bound to make more mistakes during a fight.

He didn't want to run the risk of one of them dying.

"You remember what's up ahead right?"

"A caster and some voidsent, followed by a bigger voidsent."

"This dungeon only has one mini-boss, right before the final boss fight. All the other voidsent that pop up are just gates that stop the dungeon run, and get players to get used to combat against a single stronger enemy. It's going to be our biggest challenge so far, so we need to plan ahead."

Paladin nodded in agreement, adding his own thoughts, "Hahasay has been doing well to cover Sun. I think he's pushing himself the hardest to make sure she's protected. If we want to do better, however, we need Sun to start carrying her weight in the fight."

"Sun's pushing themselves the hardest," Charlie argued. "They're not used to fighting, and they're not adapting well to the circumstances like some of us have. But Hahasay _has_ been pushing himself hard to cover her." Charlie paused for a moment to consider his party. At present the group consisted of him as a warrior, Paladin as a white mage, Sun as a pugilist, and lastly Hahasay as a lancer.

Their go-to tactic so far had been the tried and true method of Final Fantasy Fourteen. The tank runs in, grabs aggro off of all the enemies, and then the damage dealers (in this case Hahasay and Sun) focus on one enemy at a time to whittle down the mob's numbers. Meanwhile, Paladin stood in the back to provide support in the form of heals and whatever damage he could mete out.

"What are some issues you have with healing?" Charlie asked out of the blue. Muddy brown eyes met the deep blue that looked confused.

The au'ra said nothing for a moment before eventually saying, "It's… hard to tell when someone needs to be healed." It was the Warrior's turn to look confused, but not for long. Paladin looked over his shoulder and at the two newbies, explaining, "Health is hard to determine without the H.U.D."

"Mmm I guess it would be. The character models never look like they've been wounded during gameplay. How've you been managing?"

"Guesses, mostly. You're the easiest, since you're always up in the enemies face. I've been keeping it at one heal spell every five hits an enemy gets on you. I also have to worry about status effects," Paladin hurriedly added. "And I don't know if you can bleed out. I'm worried that my spells will stitch skin and muscle, but that it won't replace lost blood."

Charlie nodded in understanding, but at the same time he worried about the frequency of Paladin's healing. Too often, especially in low-levelled dungeons, newer tanks would struggle to keep aggro because of inexperienced healers. Despite Paladin and himself being seasoned players, Charlie worried that if they treated this dungeon too lightly they could end up dead.

 _I need to treat this dungeon as if I were playing it for the first time,_ he thought. _Only, this time I have to take more things into consideration._

"During this next fight," Charlie began to say, "I want you to stay in the back like you have been, but I want you to ease up on healing. Five hits is probably a bit much, so reserve your healing for when it looks like one of us is in serious trouble. In the meantime, focus on gathering information. Don't worry so much about damaging enemies. Look for kill-shots. You've got the 'Aero' spell, right?" Charlie waited for an affirmative nod before continuing, "That should be enough for right now. I want you on your toes for those heals, but if you want to help damage enemies just stick with aero."

Boney brow knitting together into a tight frown, the dark-skinned au'ra asked, "What sort of information should I be getting?"

"When we're fighting, I can't pay attention to the whole field. I'm too busy holding aggro from the guys in front of me, so I need someone I can trust to make judgement calls. If new enemies spawn, I need to know when and where. I can't asked the newbies to do this. The responsibility alone might crush them, and I need them focused on taking mobs down.

"I also need to know if we can improve. You said Hahasay is covering Sun pretty well, but what can we get Sun to do. It's easy to say she needs to carry her, but _what_ exactly, is that weight?"

They paused to think, and sometime during that quiet moment, Sun and Hahasay had gotten up and walked over. Both Paladin and Charlie spared the two newbies a questioning glance. Sun looked nervous, as if afraid to speak up. Her eyes were downcast, and her cat-like ears lay flat in what Charlie could only assume was embarrassment. "I…," the young miqo'te began hesitantly, "...I don't really know how to use my skills."

Silence.

A good, long, minute of awkward silence. Broken only by the single word Charlie could figure out to say in that moment, "What?"


End file.
